Open Up To Me
by myeverything02
Summary: My take on the DL spoilers for season 3. Danny and Lindsay confront the chemistry between them. But it proves to not be all that easy. COMPLETE!
1. Confrontation

**A/N:** I never realized how hard it is to write two stories at the same time. Between this and Life Goes on I've had my hands full. This was originally supposed to be a one-shot but one chapter turned quickly into three! Hope you enjoy.

**SPOILER ALERT:** This story could contain potential S3 spoilers for early episodes. That's your warning!

**Disclaimer:** I don't own anything….sadly!

**Chapter 1: Confrontation**

Danny and Lindsay walked down the hallway of NYPD with Flack following closely behind them. They had just come from an interview with a suspect on their current case.

"Hey Danny, did trace come back with anything on the fibers found in the victim's mouth?" Lindsay asked the man walking beside her. She chose her word carefully. It had been two days since the mishap with her undercover assignment and Danny had been on the edge ever since.

Unfortunately it didn't work. Danny stopped abruptly and turned to face Lindsay. "Why don't you just look for yourself?" He practically shoved the file into her hands and walked hastily down the hall, leaving a very shocked Lindsay. Once the initial shock wore off Lindsay took off down the hall after him. She grabbed him by the arm and pulled him into the nearest interrogation room.

Flack just stood and smiled as the door slammed shut behind them. He found this very entertaining. Stella walked up beside him. "You think we should break them up?"

They both shook their heads in unison. "They need to confront what's going on, not to mention they need to do it together. They can't just keep ignoring the fact that something's there." Flack explained.

Stella nodded with understanding. "Maybe this will loosen the tension that has been hanging over our heads since Lindsay went undercover."

Flack smiled and turned to Stella. "Want to go grab some coffee?"

"Sure. I don't see why not." She answered. Her and Flack walked down the hallways leaving Danny and Lindsay to fend for themselves.

-----Danny/Lindsay----

"What the hell is going on with you?" Lindsay asked harshly. Danny just stood there emotionless with one hand resting on the metal table. "Fine, you don't want to answer me then I'll explain it to you. For the past two days you've been distant. You're on the edge all the time and you hardly talk about anything other than work. We all want to talk to you but every time we try you go off on us. Danny, you've closed yourself off from the world, especially me."

Lindsay sighed in relief that she had finally gotten that out in the open. She attempted to look into his stormy blue eyes that she could lose herself in for hours on end, but he wouldn't look at her. "Why Danny? Just tell me why?" She pleaded.

Danny looked up. His eyes held an icy glare. "You want to know why? The answer's simple, you. Every time we come close to acknowledging the chemistry between us you pull away. And the fact that you risked your life and I don't want to lose you."

"Danny, I…" Lindsay began but faded off not knowing how to explain everything to him. There was so much she wanted to tell him but she could bring herself to do it.

Danny shook his head. "No Montana. I can't do this anymore. It's now or never. I can't go through losing another person I love." He said forcefully and harshly as he walked to one side of the room. He leant his body back against the wall, but didn't look at Lindsay.

Lindsay watched him, tears threatening to spill from her eyes. Slowly she walked over to where he stood. Lindsay reached up and took off Danny's glasses, her fingers lingering for a couple seconds. Using her thumbs she wiped away the tears from his eyes. Danny just closed his eyes taking in the sensation but at the same time he couldn't bare to look at her. How could love hurt so much?

Lindsay placed her hands on his sides and put her forehead on his chest. As much as Danny was tempted to wrap his arms around her, he resisted. After a few moments Lindsay broke the silence. "Don't you ever think for one moment that I don't love you." Her voice shook from the advancing tears. "I just…you don't understand."

Danny couldn't resist his urges and cupped Lindsay's face in his hands. His heart melted when he looked into her deep brown eyes. He saw a mix of love, fear, confusion and hurt. All he wanted to do was pull her into his arms and chase away all the hurtful memories. "Lindsay."

Him calling her by her given name was all it took to break her. The tears fell hard. Lindsay broke out of his grasp, placed his glasses on the table and ran out of the room crying.

Danny attempted to run after her but didn't make it far. He ran right smack into Flack. They both watched Lindsay make her way down the hall. Grief was written all over Danny's face. "My God Flack, what have I done?"

Flack placed a hand on his friend's shoulder. "Come on and talk to me. That's what pizza is for." Danny tried to smile but he couldn't. The only person who could make his smile in a time like this was…Lindsay.

**A/N:** 2nd and 3rd chapter should be up soon...all I have to do is type them up!


	2. Girl Talk and Schemes

**A/N:** Thank you all for the reviews! They make me smile and make me want to continue! As promised here's the second chapter!

**SPOILER ALERT:** This story could contain potential S3 spoilers for early episodes. That's your warning!

**Disclaimer: **Again…I don't own anything….sadly!

**Chapter 2: Girl Talk and Schemes**

"Hey." Stella said to gain Lindsay's attention. The petite brunette looked up from her screensaver that was replaying random pictures of the team at a party, to meet the eyes of her friend. Since Stella didn't receive an invite, she walked into the office and took a seat across from Lindsay. "This is comfortable." She stated and bounced in the chair a little.

Lindsay smiled. "I know. It's Danny's. It smells like him too." She received a comical looks from Stella in response to her statement and explained. "I have to have something to remind me of him on his days off."

Stella shook her head. "Girl, you have it bad." Lindsay and Stella broke out into loud laughter. When the laughter subsided, a comfortable silence filled the small office that Danny and Lindsay shared in the crowed New York lab. "I know what happened in the interrogation room today." This automatically grabbed Lindsay's full attention. Stella received a 'how-did-you' look. "Flack told me. Well actually, Danny told Flack and Flack passed it on to me."

"Oh." That's all Lindsay could make out. How could she explain it to Stella when she was still trying to figure out what was going on herself? So instead of answering, she averted her eyes back to her computer screen.

Stella automatically caught on to what she was attempting to do and she wasn't about to let this slip. Stella, along with Flack and probably the whole lab, knew that if these two didn't work things out, working in the building would be a living hell. "Lindsay Monroe, look at me." Lindsay slowly obeyed. "You have to deal with this and don't tell me you don't love him because that was confirmed when I walked in here."

Lindsay cut her off before she could continue. "I do love him. That's not the problem. It's just…" Her voice faded out and Stella couldn't here her.

"It's just what Linds?" Stella pushed gently. "Whatever it is you can tell me. I know what it feels like to keep something inside and have it eat away at you."

When Lindsay looked up at her friend she could see the understanding and concern. "It's a long story. Are you sure you're up for it?" She joked.

Stella smiled. "Yeah and when we're done here I'll buy you some dinner. Now spill." She leaned back in Danny's chair and made herself comfortable.

Lindsay in turn, did the same. "As you know, I was a CSI back in Bozeman before I came here. We had a tough case a year before I transferred. It was a triple; three kids killed at gun point. I had a confrontation with a suspect in an interrogation. I got out without a scratch, but it didn't stop there. After we got him put away he decided to send someone after me. But instead of getting me…" Lindsay stopped short of the end. Even two years later she still had a hard time talking about it. She took a deep breath and continued. "That night I watched my baby brother, who was 18 at the time, lose his life by a bullet that was meant for me."

Stella saw the forth coming tears making their way into Lindsay's eyes. She knew how much this hurt bit deep down it was good for Lindsay to let it all out. "So what does all this have to do with Danny?" She already had a good idea to as what the answer was going to be but she wanted it to come from Lindsay.

Lindsay wiped away the wetness from her eyes. "Matt, my brother, was young, talented and had his whole world in front of him, including a career in baseball. He was an innocent bystander and lost his life because of me and my job. Everyone wanted me to quit but it was never an option. His murder just fueled my aspirations to catch the bad guys. I moved away the first chance I got because I didn't want the people closest to me to suffer. Here, in New York, nobody knew me so I had no one to put in danger."

"I promised myself that I wouldn't fall in love, but then I met Danny." Despite herself Lindsay smiled. "I tried my best to not love him because I don't want him to get hurt because of me, but as hard as I tried I can't." She finished with a sigh.

Stella smiled at her friend's concern. "Lindsay, its sweet of you to care so much but there are a couple of things you need to realize. First of all, the risk comes with territory of the job. Second of all I think you've missed the boat. Danny Messer would take a bullet to save you, give him the chance."

"I just don't think I could forgive myself if something ever happened to him." Lindsay said quietly.

"Okay." Stella said as she stood up. "That's enough of this nonsense. Danny loves you and you love Danny. Now that we've got that covered let's go get something to eat, shall we?" She suggested and before waiting for Lindsay to protest, she continued. "I'll meet you at my car. I have to go get something from my office and go drop something off at Mac's office."

Lindsay nodded in agreement and Stella walked out of the room. She picked up a piece of paper and a pen. After writing a little not she grabbed her purse and headed out the door.

Meanwhile, Stella walked into Mac's office. Two chairs swiveled around to reveal Danny Messer and Don Flack. They both had solemn yet curious looks on their faces. "It should all be there." Stella tossed the tape down on the desk. "And Danny, don't so anything stupid. Now I'm going to dinner." Once again she spun around and walked out the door.

"Thanks Stel." The two men called after her with smiles on their faces.

**A/N:** The 3rd and final chapter should be ups soon!


	3. Admissions of the Heart

**A/N:** Hey guys! I am so sorry for the delay! But now that the season started and everything that I've heard about DL coming up in the next couple episodes I have gotten really excited and have made the time to finish this story! It's the last chapter and I hope you like it!

**Disclaimer:** I don't own CSI: NY or "Let's Be Us Again" by Lonestar.

**Chapter 3: Admissions of the Heart**

Stella dropped Lindsay off at the lab around 9pm before she went home. Lindsay had some paperwork she needed to finish and stuff like that. On her way to her office she passed Mac. She gave him a small wave and a tired hello. When she reached her office she sat down and yawned. As she looked around Lindsay noticed that the room looked untouched. She automatically assumed that Danny had been upset enough to not come back to their office that night, but the thought quickly vanished when she spotted a letter and a CD on her desk. She picked up the letter and leant back in her chair.

_Montana,_

She couldn't help but smile at the nickname he had given her when she had first transferred. When Lindsay had first arrived she had expected that she would receive rookie treatment but when Danny had dubbed her 'Montana' she thought it marked her doom. It had reminded her of high school. She was the new girl and she was partnered with the hot football player. But as the days turned into weeks and those weeks into months, the name 'Montana' had took on a whole different meaning. It became a small mark of the growing bond between them and she found herself waking up in the morning waiting the hear Danny's New York accent drawl out the nickname and give her the smile that caused her to go weak in the knees.

_I know everything. And by everything I mean the conversation you had with Stella before you left. Before you do or say anything, don't get mad at Stella or Flack. They are just trying to save us from ourselves._

Lindsay laughed. It was just like Danny to make he laugh during a serious situation. And she couldn't be mad at either Flack or Stella. She has to admit that getting everything off her chest had made her feel a lot better. It just amazed her, the things could Danny could pull off.

_I'm sorry. I didn't know what you had been through and if I had I wouldn't have pushed you so hard. All I know is that I love you and everything that's happened doesn't change anything. I want to try 'us' Montana because I really think it would work, but I can wait until you're ready. And if it counts for anything, I would take a bullet for you given the chance. Now put the CD in your computer and listen to the song. No talking. Just listen, Montana. _

_Love, Danny_

Lindsay gingerly wiped away the tears that had begun to form in her brown eyes. She carefully picked up the CD and put it in the computer. A song began to play and Lindsay automatically recognized it to be "Let's Be Us Again" by Lonestar.

_Tell me what I have to do tonight  
'Cause I'd do anything to make it right  
Let's be us again _

I'm sorry for the way I lost my head  
I don't know why I said the things I said  
Let's be us again

Here I stand  
With everything to lose  
And all I know is I don't want to ever see the end  
Baby please, I'm reaching out for you  
Won't you open up your heart and let me come back in  
Let's be us again

Oh us again

Her mind drifted back to the earlier scene in the interrogation room. They had both said things that had come out wrong. Tears began to fall deftly down her cheeks.

_Look at me, I'm way past pride  
Isn't there some way that we can try  
To be us again  
Even if it takes a while  
I'll wait right here until I see that smile  
That says we're us again _

Here I stand  
With everything to lose  
And all I know is I don't want to ever see the end  
Baby please, I'm reaching out for you  
Won't you open up your heart and let me come back in  
Let's be us

She smiled through her tears. It had to be the truth. Danny must be way past pride to do something like thins. But then again it was one of the many reasons she loved him.

Danny watched from behind. Lindsay hadn't heard him walk up. He was now leaning against the door frame watching Lindsay. She couldn't see him because her back was towards him, but it didn't keep him from spotting the smile on her lips. _'Well, it might not be the usual, bright smile but it's a start'_.

Danny slowly and quietly walked farther into the dimmed lighted room. "Baby, baby what would I do." He sang out loud along with the music. When he knelt down in front of her Lindsay gasped of shock. "Can't image life without you."

His stormy blue yes were clear and filled with love as the locked with Lindsay's deep brown ones, as the last chorus faded to an end. "Danny." Lindsay whispered once the room was silent, except for the sound of their breathing and the steady beating of their hearts.

His finger stopped her from going on. He took her hands in his and kissed them. "I love you Lindsay and nothing you say is going to change that. But now knowing how you feel inside helps me understand. I want you to know that I am ready and willing to wait until you're ready; no matter how long because you are my perfect match."

Lindsay smiled. "I wouldn't say perfect but as close as it gets."

Danny laughed and wiped her tears away gently. Cupping her face he pulled her in for a kiss. The kiss was gentle, sweet and everything they had ever wanted it to be. When they pulled away reluctantly, Lindsay rested her forehead against his. "I love you Danny and I'm ready to try 'us'."

Danny smiled and places a quick kiss to her lips. "I love you too Lindsay."

She quickly shook her head. "Montana." All she received from Danny was a quizzical look. "As much as I like it when you call me Lindsay, you're supposed to call me 'Montana'. It's unique and it symbolizes that you have my heart; forever and always."

Danny just looked at her shocked. He had a feeling she like the name but she had never let on totally. "I love you Montana."

"That's better. Now kiss me again, Messer." Lindsay demanded sweetly and Danny happily filled her request.

**THE END**

**A/N: **Hope you liked it! Let me now….remember reviews make my day!


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